[Mitworld] Hockfield and Sur on Brain Research at MIT, Mark Bear on Autism

[MIT World]

MIT World Newsletter

Volume 8, Number 43 |  June 17, 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction/Overview of Brain Disorders
May 4, 2009

In their symposium introduction, Susan Hockfield and Mriganka Sur place MIT at the forefront 
of a revolution in neuroscience. Hockfield, MIT President and Professor of Neuroscience, recaps 
the evolution of the discipline at MIT, from its 1964 start in the Department of Psychology to 
the more recent establishment of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.  Sur explains how MIT addresses research problems through a “unique interdisciplinary effort” 
comprising molecular biology, neuron and cognitive science, and computation.

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/677

Speakers:
Dr. Susan Hockfield
MIT President
Professor of Neuroscience

Mriganka Sur
Newton Professor in Neuroscience
Head, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences


Event Host:
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

"At MIT we love bold experiments, the kind that change the rules, and we have an impressive record 
of making bets that win. That fearless experimental spirit coupled with intense collaboration among 
investigators, with the support of philanthropic friends, is exactly what will drive us 
to the next level in brain research."
-Susan Hockfield

--------------------------------------------------------------

The Autistic Neuron
May 4, 2009

This self-described “basic neuroscientist” confesses he never thought he’d give a talk on autism, 
but as Mark Bear recounts, decades of research in the basics are now paying off with important 
insights into the etiology and treatment of brain disorders, including autism.

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/678

Speaker:
Mark Bear
Director, and Picower Professor of Neuroscience
 The Picower Center for Learning and MemoryInvestigator
 Howard Hughes Medical Institute


Event Host:
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

"No single lab can answer all the questions (about autism). But the payoff will be tangible 
and huge. ... By understanding the pathobiology, the pathophysiology, we hope to come up with 
therapeutic interventions that are more than palliative -- that is, disease modifying interventions 
to correct the course of the disease."
-Mark Bear

--------------------------------------------------------------

In The Pipeline:

The Energy Problem and the Interplay Between Basic and Applied Research

Presented By:
Office of the President
 Karl Taylor Compton Lecture

Speaker:
Steven Chu
U.S. Secretary of Energy

--------------------------------------------------------------


Contact MIT World

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
mit.world at mit.edu | http://mitworld.mit.edu

You are viewing this email because you have subscribed to the MIT World Newsletter
Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Instantly:
Write to mitworld-request at mit.edu with "unsubscribe" in the subject line
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/mitworld/attachments/20090617/890b8bd6/attachment.htm